1. Field
The present invention relates to treatments for a surface of a metal article and an article with a treated surface. More particularly, the present invention relates to performing laser cladding treatments to coat all or part of one or more surfaces of a metal enclosure with cladding material, and further relates to a metal enclosure with different coatings of cladding material on selective regions to provide different structural and/or cosmetic properties at these regions of the metal enclosure.
2. Background Art
Many products in the commercial and consumer industries are metal articles, or include metal enclosures. The metal surfaces of these products may be treated by any number of processes to alter the surface to create a desired effect, either functional (such as corrosion resistance and wear resistance), cosmetic (such as color, shininess or surface texture), or both. Such characteristics are important to consumers because they want to purchase products that have surfaces that will stand up to normal wear and tear of everyday use and continue to look brand new. One example of such a surface treatment is anodization. Anodizing a metal surface converts a portion of the metal surface into a metal oxide, thereby creating a metal oxide layer. The porous nature of the metal oxide layer created by anodization can be used for absorbing dyes to impart a color to the anodized metal surface. While anodized metal surfaces can provide increased corrosion resistance and wear resistance, it can be difficult for a metal oxide layer to form at edges, such as at corners of the metal article. The metal oxide grows vertically into and outward from a surface, and these growing surfaces intersect at a corner such that the corner itself does not have metal oxide growth.